Research Article
Delay and Cost Overrun in Construction Projects:
A Regression Analysis in Southeastern Nigeria
Okoye Oluchukwu Nwabufo Nzubechukwu*
,
Paul Eshofune Precious
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 3, June 2026
Pages:
78-89
Received:
4 May 2026
Accepted:
18 May 2026
Published:
30 May 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.eas.20261103.11
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Views:
Abstract: Construction delays are a ubiquitous phenomenon in the building industry in Nigeria. Despite the proliferation of construction delays in the country, there is a paucity of regression-based research investigating the causes of such delays in Southeastern Nigeria. A survey of 138 clients, contractors and consultants of road and building construction companies in Enugu and Anambra states, Nigeria, supplemented with the interview of an engineer with many years of experience in the construction industry, provides insights into the causes of construction delays in the region. Two multiple linear regression models were estimated, treating cost overrun and time overrun as distinct dependent variables and seven stakeholder-grouped delay factor categories as independent predictors. Contractor-related factors ranked highest descriptively (mean = 3.91), and delay in progress payment was the most severe individual factor (mean = 3.84). Regression analysis revealed that consultant-related factors were the strongest direct predictors of both cost overrun (β = 0.524, p < 0.001) and time overrun (β = 0.628, p < 0.001), despite ranking only fourth descriptively, a gap that challenges the assumption that perceived delay attribution reliably predicts measurable project outcomes. The models collectively explained 47.7% (R2 = 0.477) and 52.2% (R2 = 0.522) of the variance in cost and time overrun respectively. Effective performance improvement requires coordinated action by all three stakeholder groups, with contractually binding payment schedules, proactive contractor planning, and performance-based consultant accountability as priority interventions.
Abstract: Construction delays are a ubiquitous phenomenon in the building industry in Nigeria. Despite the proliferation of construction delays in the country, there is a paucity of regression-based research investigating the causes of such delays in Southeastern Nigeria. A survey of 138 clients, contractors and consultants of road and building construction ...
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Research Article
Systematizing Negotiation Strategies Through TRIZ-based Contradiction Resolution: Toward a Framework for Negotiation Engineering
Jae Yup Chung*,
Chang Yong Song
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 3, June 2026
Pages:
90-104
Received:
2 May 2026
Accepted:
18 May 2026
Published:
2 June 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.eas.20261103.12
Downloads:
Views:
Abstract: This study reconceptualizes negotiation as a structured process of contradiction resolution by applying the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) to the analysis of strategic negotiation behavior. Negotiation theory has developed both rich descriptive accounts of psychological and behavioral dynamics and prescriptive frameworks for rational decision-making, yet the systematic creative transformation of constraint sets—how negotiators redesign the problem space rather than merely optimize within it—remains undertheorized. We argue that many core negotiation dilemmas constitute physical contradictions in the TRIZ sense: situations in which a single system must simultaneously satisfy opposing requirements. The study applies TRIZ’s four separation principles—time, space, condition, and whole–part separation—to these contradictions and develops a mapping procedure linking contradiction identification to separation principles, inventive principles, and observable tactics. Ten negotiation tactics drawn from the extensively documented public record of Donald J. Trump's business and political negotiations serve as an empirical illustration in a theory-building case study design, selected as an extreme case that renders structural patterns maximally visible. We situate TRIZ within the broader landscape of creative problem-solving frameworks—including brainstorming, lateral thinking, Design Thinking, and SCAMPER—and argue for its distinctive suitability due to its contradiction-specific, algorithmic structure. The proposed framework, termed Negotiation Engineering, integrates the precision of engineering design with the behavioral complexity of negotiation, offering implications for negotiation theory, pedagogy, and AI-assisted decision support. Limitations of the single-case design and the partial applicability of TRIZ to non-formalizable negotiation dimensions are explicitly acknowledged.
Abstract: This study reconceptualizes negotiation as a structured process of contradiction resolution by applying the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) to the analysis of strategic negotiation behavior. Negotiation theory has developed both rich descriptive accounts of psychological and behavioral dynamics and prescriptive frameworks for rational de...
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